


coming home (to you)

by compendiary



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Domestic, Fluff, M/M, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-22 02:25:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16589006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/compendiary/pseuds/compendiary
Summary: yukhei decides to foster a dog from the local shelter they volunteer at weekly without consulting mark beforehand and unsurprisingly, they both fall in love with it. when the dog leaves to its forever home, yukhei is devastated. mark decides to fix this by adopting a puppy for yukhei and they form a small dysfunctional family that mark wouldn’t trade for the world.alternatively, yukhei and mark are boyfriends who start a family together by adopting a dog.





	coming home (to you)

Mark has known Yukhei long enough for him to be familiar with the fact that nothing good ever happens whenever Yukhei has an idea. Yukhei is a mess of a human being and it says a lot about Mark because he’s in love with said mess of a human being. Regardless of how much Mark loves him, though, he doesn’t know what to say to Yukhei’s random declaration of love that morning.

“Minhyung, you know I love you, right?”

Mark glares at his boyfriend pointedly, making sure to convey how unimpressed he is by Yukhei’s bold attempt at flattery at 8am in the morning. Yukhei only calls him Minhyung whenever he wants something from him, and Mark is not in the mood to give him _anything_ right now.

Yukhei, on the other hand, only lets his smile spread wider, his infuriatingly straight rows of teeth sparkling at Mark like a taunt. “I love you, and you love me too, don’t you?” Yukhei continues, undeterred by Mark’s blatant dismissal of his previous question.

Mark strives to have Yukhei’s level of self-confidence. It’s what attracted Mark to him in the first place. Yukhei is tall, he has a built that could rival a Greek god’s, and he has a face that looks like it was carved by angels—however, what stands out most about him is his personality. Yukhei is a master at persuasion, so Mark doesn’t need to say anything in return because he knows Yukhei will fill in the silences until he gets the response he wants.

Mark is a weakling when it comes to Yukhei so there’s no need for him to veto whatever is about to come next. Yukhei is in a ‘ _I’m going to get my way no matter what it takes’_ mood and Mark wouldn’t be able to stop him even if he wanted to.

True enough, Yukhei continues talking as if Mark just enthusiastically agreed to loving him unconditionally.

“Okay, so I was wondering... since we both love each other so much, it wouldn’t be a problem if I made an executive decision alone, because you’d still love me anyway.”

This, however, _this_ is what makes Mark crack. “What did you do this time?” Mark asks, his voice hoarse from disuse. He just woke up, for heaven’s sake. It’s one of his rare Mondays in, and here Yukhei is ruining his scheduled 10-hour sleep marathon with what he can only anticipate as bad news.

Yukhei flinches away from him slightly, but leans back in afterwards. He’s lying with his belly facing down in bed and he’s supporting his upper body with his elbows so he can look down at Mark’s sleeping form. “We were at the shelter yesterday, no? And I disappeared for a bit, if you noticed.”

Mark doesn’t remember. They volunteer at the local animal shelter every Sunday because Yukhei isn’t keen on attending church. It’s one of their weekly scheduled activities as a couple and Mark loves helping out there just as much as Yukhei loves running around like a five-year-old whenever they let him walk the dogs. Yes, Mark recalls being on bath duty yesterday with Jeno—who forgot his antihistamines and nearly sneezed his entire nose off—but he doesn’t know what Yukhei might have done alone.

They usually do work together, because they want the work to be a bonding activity too, but the shelter was understaffed yesterday so Taeyong swapped Mark over to give the animals baths. Yukhei was still on dog-walking duties and Mark can only imagine what kind of trouble he found himself in.

Yukhei licks his lips, still gazing down at Mark with his impossibly large eyes. “I might have promised to foster a dog yesterday,” Yukhei finally confesses and he looks incredibly serious about it. Like he’s ready to lay his life on the line to protect this dog.

“You… you what?”

“We’re going to be parents!” Yukhei exclaims, sitting up and clasping his hands together in glee. “For awhile, anyway. We’re going to foster this tiny little dog until she gets well enough to go to her new family.”

Mark groans, rolling to his side to not face Yukhei. Only Yukhei would be able to drop a bomb like this and make it sound optimistic. Mark feels Yukhei’s hands on his shoulder and his side, ready to pull him towards him, but he struggles and shrugs Yukhei’s grip from his body. “Don’t, Lucas.”

He can imagine Yukhei’s expression now. He only calls Yukhei by his English name to let him know that he’s walking on thin ice. It’s the magic of having multiple names, Mark thinks, because they know what it means whenever they start calling each other something else. Yukhei probably has his eyebrows knit together in confusion while chewing on his bottom lip as he lets a hundred possible scenarios run through his head.

Mark lets Yukhei suffer the icy atmosphere for a couple more minutes before he rolls back around to look at him. Sure enough, Yukhei has a whole expression of worry written all over his face. It makes Mark want to kiss the tension off of each feature, but Mark recalls what Yukhei did to put himself in this situation and he throws the thought away immediately.

“ _Baby_ ,” Yukhei whines, leaning forward to nuzzle his head against Mark’s tummy. “Are you mad at me?”

Mark huffs.

“Please don’t be mad at me,” Yukhei continues, playing up the cutesy in his voice because he knows it’s one of Mark’s weaknesses. He rests his face on Mark’s abdomen, turning to look Mark in the eyes as he flops himself down onto the bed fully. “Are you mad?”

It’s not that Mark is angry, per se. Mark is annoyed that Yukhei didn’t consult him before making a decision like this, yes, but he’s more nervous than anything. They’re two dysfunctional men who are barely keeping their lives together as it is—how can they expect to take care of another living thing properly? They can’t.

Mark is still sour about the C+ he got on an assignment for his creative writing class the other day. Him, _Mark Lee_ , getting a grade lower than a B? Impossible. It was the first C that Mark has ever gotten in his life and he’s barely holding it together thinking about how it probably won’t be the last.

Similarly, Yukhei is hanging on a thin thread with his sports scholarship. He’s doing great with competitive swimming, but his grades have been mediocre at best. He has to maintain a 3.2 GPA to keep the scholarship and if Mark’s memory doesn’t fail him, Yukhei is currently on a 3.23. Not the best, certainly, so they can both do much better.

They’re both just scraping through life at this point so it would be unwise to bring someone else into this.

“It’s just for a couple of weeks,” Yukhei promises, his voice pleading. “It’ll be fun. I’ll be the most _responsiblelest_ dad, ever.”

Mark absentmindedly cards his fingers through Yukhei’s brown hair, the fluffy strands falling across Yukhei’s face slowly. He hums. “‘Most responsible’.”

“What?”

“You’d be the ‘most responsible’ dad.”

The wide smile that Yukhei gives Mark can only be described as dazzling. It’s blinding, even. “So you’re okay with it? I can keep her?” Yukhei is so happy at this point that Mark can practically feel him vibrating in place from excitement.

“Yeah,” Mark agrees, unable to hold in a giggle when Yukhei leaps up from bed with a celebratory _whoop!_

“What’s the condition?”

“What condition?” Mark asks.

“You always give me that ‘on one condition’ talk whenever you let me do something stupid. So tell me, what’s the condition?”

Mark purses his lips. He didn’t think to give Yukhei an ultimatum this time—it seems like a fairly reasonable action. Yukhei just wants to be a good person and house an innocent little dog who needs someone to take care of it. Mark is worried about their capabilities as homemakers, but he’s confident that they will try their best and if the universe will have it, they will prevail.

There’s no need for a dumb condition if they’re both sincere and have a shared goal.

He does want to use up this ‘condition’ thing since Yukhei brought it up, though. Mark clears his throat, beckoning Yukhei to lie back down with him in bed with his arms spread out wide to reach for Yukhei.

Yukhei obediently settles himself into his side of the bed, letting Mark snuggle up close to him as he awaits Mark’s rule. “I’m so excited, you don’t understand,” Yukhei admits, laughing to himself softly like he’s embarrassed. “I’ve always wanted my own dog.”

Mark chuckles along with him. “Okay, you can keep the dog on one condition. You do all the dirty work, and we always walk the dog together. Deal?”

“Deal,” comes Yukhei’s immediate reply. “That’s a done deal, Your Honour. That’s the easiest goddamn deal I have ever made.”

Mark rolls his eyes, looking up into Yukhei’s eyes in a wordless request of _kiss me_ , and thankfully, Yukhei understands and obliges.

They stay like this, smiling and laughing into light kisses, and Mark’s Monday morning doesn’t seem that bad after all.

 

* * *

 

Yukhei comes home with Jeno and Jaemin in tow on Thursday afternoon, right after one of their shared lectures. Mark has been at home slaving over a write-up he has to submit before the end of the week since his last lecture ended at 11am and progress hasn’t been particularly efficient with the way he’s working.

Mark looks to see Jeno with a white face mask covering half of his face, his glasses perched on his nose bridge as he does a quick wave before beckoning for Jaemin to come in.

“Hurry up, Jaemin!” Jeno excitedly says.

Mark is seated cross-legged on the floor, so he shuts his laptop that’s perched on the coffee table to turn and watch the ruckus unfolding at his front door. Yukhei pads over towards Mark with light footsteps, holding his hands together in a prayer sign as he approaches him.

“Mark,” Yukhei starts, leaving a dramatic pause.

“Yes, _Xuxi_ ,” Mark drawls, shaking his head.

Yukhei then shrieks “Let her in!” with the highest pitch Mark has ever heard come out of his mouth and soon a whole ball of brown fur comes running in through the front door with frantic steps, making its way quickly to Yukhei’s feet. He picks the dog up—a Pomeranian, from what Mark can see—and holds it to his chest.

Jaemin follows in closely behind the dog, leaving Jeno to shut the door behind him.

“This is Lion,” Yukhei introduces, using his index finger to gently touch the dog on its nose. “She’s our new daughter until further notice.”

Mark can’t help but laugh. He stands up so he can look at it—no, _her_ —properly. Lion is small. She’s barely bigger than Yukhei’s hand, but Yukhei has freakishly long fingers so he supposes that it’s normal for a Pomeranian to be that size. She has silky smooth fur that’s a shade of golden brown, and her eyes are inquisitive as she sticks her tongue out to pant.

“Ask him why her name’s Lion!” Jaemin enthuses from the side. “Quick! Ask him. Then after he’s done with his stupid speech, Jeno and I want to play godparents.”

Mark reaches his arms out for Yukhei to pass Lion over to him, but she nips at his fingers when he tries to take her. “Whoa there, she’s feisty,” Mark comments, looking up at Yukhei who’s still beaming at him. “Why’d you name her Lion, anyway?”

“She looks like a lion, doesn’t she?” Yukhei replies. “But oh my God, it’s because of how she _is._ You know how I call you ‘baby lion’ sometimes because you look like a cub? She’s exactly like you. She’s tiny but so fierce.”

“That’s _so romantic_ ,” Jaemin sarcastically says. He yelps when Jeno nudges him harshly in the ribs.

“I’m not tiny,” Mark argues, pressing his lips together in a thin line as he scrunches his nose up at Yukhei.

Yukhei guffaws before squatting down to let Lion roam the house freely. She’s able to take two steps towards the kitchen before Jaemin is already snatching her up to coo at her.

Jaemin makes Jeno take pictures of him with her on his phone, leaving Yukhei and Mark in their own corner after establishing their temporary family.

“You’re going to love her once she warms up to you,” Yukhei promises, resting his forearms on Mark’s shoulders as he holds him in place. Yukhei is looking down at him with all the wonder in the world hidden in his eyes. “She even has a Chinese name.”

“I can’t believe they let you name her.”

Yukhei scoffs at that. “I named her _Xiǎo Shīzi_ in Chinese, which means ‘little lion’ because she’s exactly like her namesake.” Yukhei plants a brief peck on Mark’s forehead before continuing. “Once those two meddling kids are gone, we’re going to be a real family.”

Mark lets his eyes fall on where Jaemin and Jeno are seated on the floor with Lion running between the both of them. They’re rolling a ball towards each other that she’s chasing after and there’s a little bell on her pink collar that jingles with every step she takes.

She does look like a lion, funnily enough, so Mark’s actually kind of touched that Yukhei immediately thought to name her after him just because he immediately associated lions with Mark.

Yukhei can be impulsive, clumsy, and an _all-around nuisance_ —Chenle’s words, not Mark’s—but Mark will be damned if he isn’t the best boyfriend around. Yukhei continues holding Mark’s gaze when Mark looks back at him and that itself reminds Mark of why he’s in love with this giant mess of a man. Yukhei looks at him like he put the stars in the sky although it can’t be further from the truth.

“You’re doing great, Xuxi,” Mark says, cupping Yukhei’s face in his hands. He tiptoes slightly to plant a kiss onto Yukhei’s lips. “We’re going to be great parents.”

Yukhei laughs and it’s one of the sounds Mark hopes he never forgets. “Okay, let’s get our daughter back,” he whispers, egging Mark on to kidnap Lion from Jeno and Jaemin. “Jeno, are you hungry?” Yukhei asks, going over to rummage through the cupboards in their kitchen.

Jeno is distracted by the prospect of food and quickly follows after him, leaving Jaemin with the ball alone. Mark takes the opportunity to familiarise himself with Lion.

He picks up the ball when Jaemin rolls it towards him, plopping himself onto the floor. He holds it out towards Lion, who only looks at him blankly as she’s standing next to Jaemin’s outstretched legs. “Come on, _Xiǎo Shīzi_ ,” Mark calls, wiggling the ball in his hand. “Come to daddy.”

“Is that how you communicate with Xuxi at home, Mark?” Jaemin teases.

Mark shoots him a glare that effectively shuts him up. “Help me, Jaemin. Help me get her over to me.” Mark bounces the ball in place once to get Lion’s attention. “ _Xiǎo Shīzi, guò lái_ ,” Mark calls, hoping that his limited Mandarin vocabulary isn’t failing him. Maybe Lion only speaks Mandarin.

“You’re teaching her Chinese?” Jaemin asks, laughing. He pats her on her behind a few times to get her to walk towards Mark. “Go over, _Xiǎo Shīzi_ ,” he says.

Lion takes a few more minutes of coaxing before she’s padding over to Mark cautiously, sitting right in front of him after, as if she were giving him permission to touch her now. Mark takes the invitation, supposing that he’s finally passed the initiation process to be let into Lion’s circle of associates. He strokes the fur on her head slowly, wary in case she tries to bite him again, but Lion is content with his contact and doesn’t make an effort to struggle.

“She’s finally warming up to Mark!” Jaemin shouts towards the kitchen, to which Mark can hear Yukhei scream with excitement.

Yukhei bounds out of the kitchen, quickly pulling out his phone to take pictures of Mark with Lion nestled in his lap. “This is the best day of my life,” he says, and Mark can almost make out tears in his eyes. Yukhei is ever the softie. “Mark, hold her to your face and say ‘cheese’!”

Mark does as he’s told, smiling on cue. He knows that Yukhei’s going to change the lock-screen photo on his phone tonight. “Come over, Xuxi, let’s take a family photo.”

Jaemin instinctively reaches for Yukhei’s phone, already positioned to take pictures for them.

Yukhei sets himself on his knees right behind Mark, holding Mark by the shoulders as they both look down at Lion who’s cradled to Mark’s chest like a baby. They swap poses a few times, and Mark’s favourite photo at the end of their impromptu photoshoot is the one where they both kiss Lion on each cheek like in those stereotypical family photoshoots.

Jeno gags when he reemerges from the kitchen with a pot of cooked _ramyeon_ in his hands, shaking his head at the ridiculous poses Jaemin instructed the two of them to do. “Can the three of you come eat already? The noodles are already soggy enough as it is,” he complains, setting up the table with bowls and eating utensils.

“Jeno, we should expand our family!” Jaemin announces as he makes his way towards the dining table.

“He’s like, deathly allergic with three cats already,” Mark reminds Jaemin, making eye contact with Yukhei as they both shake their heads in unison.

Yukhei settles Lion down next to him as he stands up, holding a hand out to help Mark up after. “How are you feeling about the whole dad thing, _dad_?”

“I don’t know, _dad_ , you tell me,” Mark replies, bursting out into laughter when he sees Yukhei contort his facial features into an ugly frown to keep from laughing.

He takes one last look at their new temporary daughter before taking his seat at the dinner table, making a mental note to sneak her a bite of a sausage (with the spicy soup rinsed off, of course) under the table, not knowing that Yukhei was already planning to do the same.

 

* * *

  

Mark takes to Lion incredibly easily. She melds into their lives perfectly, putting a tiny Pomeranian-shaped dent into their days, and it’s great. Everything goes well because Yukhei steps up to the plate exactly like he promised to.

Yukhei remembers to bring the poop bags whenever they take Lion out for their evening walk and he also grooms her daily even though he doesn’t really have to. It’s endearing to see Yukhei take such good care of the tiny creature, so Mark watches proudly as Yukhei’s small chores start to become routine.

Everything goes so well, however, that they forget that they have to say goodbye.

Lion’s vaccination report clears when it marks the third week of her living in the Wong-Lee household and it comes as nothing less than a shock when the veterinarian gives Lion her last shot, patting her lightly after for staying still. “She’s finally ready to be put up for adoption,” Jaehyun announces. “The both of you have taken great care of her.”

“What does that mean?” Yukhei asks, swallowing audibly.

Jaehyun looks at his friend with disdain. “It means she’s going on the database and people can offer to take her home,” he states without emotion, clapping Yukhei on the back with a gloved hand. “I’m glad you took care of her, Xuxi. She’s looking good.”

Mark can see the panicked look in Yukhei’s eyes already. It definitely slipped both their minds that this is temporary—they’re _fostering_ , so it makes sense that Lion will have to leave them to join another loving family. Mark wraps his arms around Yukhei from the side as they look at Lion who’s sitting quietly on the procedure table.

Jaehyun leaves the room to grab the paperwork to validate the last of Lion’s vaccinations, shaking his head slightly when he notices the two of them having a silent pity party for themselves in the corner.

“Our baby’s all grown up,” Yukhei says, gulping once more after speaking.

“She’s five years old, Xuxi, she’s always been grown,” Mark deadpans, reaching up to pat one of his boyfriend’s cheeks. “You’re okay with saying goodbye to her?”

Yukhei blinks at him contemplatively for a few seconds before nodding, suddenly confident. “I am,” he insists, turning halfway to circle his arms around Mark as well so that they’re hugging now. “I’m happy that we took care of her well enough for her to finally go to a loving family. It’s what she deserves.”

Lion yips from the table and the two of them whip their heads to look in her direction. She wags her tail and sticks her tongue out like she’s in agreement with their words.

“See? She’s happy too.”

Mark smiles, nuzzling his head into Yukhei’s chest because he’s happy—he’s glad that Lion is in perfect condition to be adopted now, but he’s not ready to say goodbye just yet. Maybe _they_ could be the ones to adopt her—maybe they can offer her the forever home that she needs.

He feels Yukhei bury his nose in his hair, planting a soft kiss onto the crown of his head. “It’s going to be okay, Minhyung,” he whispers. “We were good parents.”

Mark is about to open his mouth to suggest that they adopt her for real when Jaehyun walks through the door, clutching a thick wad of paper in his hands.

“Good news!” Jaehyun announces to the both of them. “Lion’s actually been on the database for awhile and apparently there’s a family that wants to adopt her already!”

Mark feels his face fall at Jaehyun’s words, his jaw falling slightly slack as he tries to find appropriate words to respond with. He looks up to see Yukhei smiling widely.

“That’s amazing news, Jeffrey,” Yukhei says, making Jaehyun snort with the use of his nickname.

Mark sighs, walking over to pet Lion. He scratches under her chin in the exact spot that he knows she loves, grinning to himself when she shuts her eyes in contentment. “ _Xiǎo Shīzi_ , we’re going to miss you,” he confesses to her, not loud enough for Jaehyun and Yukhei to hear past their bickering. “I hope your new family will love you as much as we do.”

As if on cue, Lion opens her eyes and licks one of Mark’s fingers, a gesture Mark takes as a silent _thank you_.

“How long do we have with her?” Mark asks, his question interrupting Yukhei mid-sentence.

Jaehyun considers the application process in his head, blinking rapidly as he does the math in his head. “I’d say maybe a week? They might do a house visit in the next couple of days to see if the family is a good match for her, then they’ll probably take some time to think about it… so, I’d say a week.”

Mark reaches out for Yukhei’s hand and the latter complies immediately, squeezing Mark’s fingers tightly as their hands touch. “That’s good,” Mark says. “I hope they’ll be good for her.”

 

The family is good. They’re almost _too good_. They’re a small family of three—a couple in their early thirties and their young daughter, an angelic eight-year-old with a pair of pink thick-rimmed glasses framing her face. The little girl is polite and shy as she steps into their apartment but she brightens up when she sets her eyes on Lion, who seems to like her just as much.

In fact, the girl and Lion are practically inseparable at the end of their playdate, so it’s evident that this family—the Kims—will be the perfect family for Lion.

The application process is completed by the end of the week just like Jaehyun said and the Kim family arrive right on time to bring their newest family member home.

Yukhei dressed Lion up in the pyjamas that he bought for her just last week at the night market—a baby blue jumpsuit that’s just a bit too long for her short legs, but makes her look lethally cute. Yukhei has a sombre expression on his face the entire morning and their home is the quietest it’s ever been since they first moved in.

Mark answers the door when he hears the doorbell ring, not trusting Yukhei to not scare away the family with how dark his expression looks. He greets them a good morning, ushering them in with a false sense of enthusiasm as he looks over at Yukhei who has Lion sitting in his lap.

Lion perks up at the little girl’s entrance, hopping off Yukhei’s lap immediately to run towards her. The girl giggles gleefully as she sees Lion. “Lion!” she calls, reaching down to scoop the dog up into her arms. “ _Xiǎo Shīzi_ , we’re taking you home!”

“What are you going to name her?” Mark asks as a form of small talk, looking back and forth between the girl and her parents. Her parents gesture towards her, encouraging her to tell Mark.

“I like Lion,” she replies softly, her cheeks turning a faint shade of pink as she looks up at Mark. “And _Xiǎo Shīzi_.”

Mark supposes that she must’ve heard them call for Lion when she visited a couple of days ago. He beams, pleased that she likes the name enough to keep it. Yukhei will definitely be happy about that.

There’s a slight smile playing on Yukhei’s lips as he watches the girl interact with Lion. “I’m a strong man,” Yukhei says to no one in particular when Mark goes over to him to rest a comforting hand on the small of his back. “I’m a big, strong, six-feet-tall man.”

“Yes, baby, yes you are,” Mark agrees, waiting for time to pass.

The girl’s parents ready themselves to leave after 15 minutes, receiving the small bag of Lion’s belongingsgratefully. “You’re both such good people for fostering dogs,” Mr. Kim says as they make their way towards the door. “You did exceptional with Lion. Thank you so much for taking her in.”

Mark makes sure that Yukhei gets his final moment with Lion before taking her from him so that he doesn’t have to be the one to send her off. “Please take care of each other,” Mark tells both the little girl and Lion when he passes her over. “Bye, _Xiǎo Shīzi_. We’ll miss you.”

After a flurry of goodbyes, Mark closes the door behind him and makes a bee-line for Yukhei. “Baby,” he coos when he sees that Yukhei’s already crying. “ _Baby_.”

Yukhei shakes his head vehemently, obviously in denial that he has tears and snot running down his face. He’s not always the strong man that he claims to be and Mark would think that he’d be accepting of that fact by now. But apparently not. “I’m not crying,” Yukhei croaks out, a whole new stream of tears already pouring from his eyes. “I’m. Not. Crying.”

“Stop it,” Mark argues, holding Yukhei’s head to his chest. “You’re going to make me cry too.”

It’s too late. Mark finds himself a sobbing mess as well and the both of them are tangled in their own limbs on the couch by the end of the hour, trying to even out their breathing after a fierce session of crying.

“Our daughter really left the nest,” Yukhei mumbles, his face hidden under Mark’s arm as Mark draws circles over his back.

“We’ll be okay, Xuxi.”

“Yeah,” Yukhei hums, sniffling after. He repositions himself on the couch so that he can rest his chin on Mark’s chest now. He looks at Mark with the softest expression on his face, his eyes shiny from all the tears he just shed earlier. “I love you.”

Mark is about to say it back but Yukhei leans over to peck the tip of his nose.

“You love me too, I know,” Yukhei says, shutting his eyes as he rests his head on Mark’s chest once more. “But I love you the _mostest_.”

Mark laughs and it’s a low rumble in his throat. “Yeah, I love you, Wong Yukhei.”

“Likewise, Mark Lee.”

They take an afternoon nap like this, but not before they share their 10-year plans with each other, fantasising about the house they’ll move into and the dog-children they will have.

 

* * *

  

The next two weeks pass without incidence. They slowly learn how to function without Lion in their lives anymore—they don’t have to go on evening walks, there aren’t any weird smells from any stray puddles of pee that Lion used to leave around the apartment, and there’s no more worrying over whether they’ve _both_ fed Lion the same meal twice. Mark misses Lion but there’s enough going on for him with university that distracts him from thinking about her.

He’s been spending more time at the library, granted that his finals are in a few weeks’ time. He’s not about to risk getting another C for a module, because that would be adding salt to his recent injury.

Yukhei isn’t too happy that Mark isn’t spending much time at home, so he’s also packed up and moved to the table Mark usually sits at in a far corner of the library, just to keep Mark company. He shows up unannounced after swim practice, a bag of candies and a few lollipops stuffed haphazardly into his pocket, and he sits down and watches.

Mark hisses at Yukhei to do some revision for his own modules, chiding him via text message after because he doesn’t want the librarian to come running because of all the noise.

“ _But my birthday’s next week… cut me some slack,_ ” is Yukhei’s reply via text. Mark sees Yukhei pout at him childishly from the opposite side of the table, a lollipop stick poking out from between his lips. “ _I just want to spend time with you!_ ”

Mark rolls his eyes, but reaches forward to take one of Yukhei’s hands in his anyway. He manages to type with only one hand, thanking the gods for his impeccable dexterity. “ _Lame excuse._ ”

Yukhei’s pout intensifies.

“ _Okay, fine, let me pack up._ ” Mark squeezes Yukhei’s hand to stop him from jumping out of his seat and making a scene. “Shh!” Mark hisses at him when he sees Yukhei lift an eyebrow mischievously. “Don’t.”

Yukhei nods carefully, already motioning to help Mark with packing up his belongings. He swiftly shuts Mark’s laptop and puts the pens and highlighters back into Mark’s pencil case. His movements are so quick that Mark himself doesn’t even have to do anything. “Can we go yet?” Yukhei asks after he’s zipped up Mark’s bag but his voice is louder than he anticipated and the librarian shoots him a look. “Sorry, Doyoung.”

Doyoung, the librarian, shakes his head and shoos them away, holding his index finger to his lips the entire time.

Mark practically drags Yukhei out of the library, letting Yukhei hold his bag because he’s lazy and Yukhei deserves a bit of a punishment for ruining his study plans. “You’re no good for me,” Mark complains when they’re walking towards a busy street. He ignores Yukhei’s sharp inhale indicating offence. “It’s called a birth _day_ not a birth _week_ for a reason.”

“I just want to spend time with you before I turn 21!” Yukhei argues, swinging their arms as they walk. They have their fingers interlocked with Yukhei’s hand almost swallowing Mark’s, but it’s a welcomed warmth in contrast to the biting cold of winter. “Have you gotten me my gift yet?”

Right, a gift. Mark’s been so consumed by his academics that he’s forgotten to prepare a present for Yukhei beforehand. He was already planning to take Yukhei on a romantic day out on his actual birthday—a trip to a theme park, a subsequent visit to a cosy café, and finishing the night off with Yukhei’s favourite supper spot in the heart of the city. He hasn’t gotten around to figuring out what to get for Yukhei on such an important birthday.

Yukhei probably notices how Mark’s expression blanches and he only laughs in response. “Hey, I was just kidding. You know you’ve already given me the best gift,” he offers, bringing their intertwined fingers to his lips to give Mark’s hand a kiss. “You’re you and that’s enough for me.”

Mark makes a gagging noise just to annoy Yukhei because the man can be so cheesy sometimes. He’s thankful that Yukhei regularly expresses this side of himself, though, because it’s made Mark a lot more confident with showing love too. “I’ve got a few ideas,” Mark lies, knowing fairly well that he’s going to have to make a frantic call to Kun and Jungwoo later to ask for advice. “But if it all fails you can just have me.”

“That sounds good to me.”

There’s a dopey smile on Yukhei’s face as he says that and Mark shakes his head when he notices that the tips of Yukhei’s ears are red from the cold. He reaches up to pinch one of Yukhei’s ears with his free hand, mumbling, “Dumbo.”

Yukhei huffs in annoyance. “My ears aren’t _that_ big.”

“Everything about you is big.” Mark regrets the words as they fall out of his mouth because Yukhei is wiggling his eyebrows suggestively now, causing Mark to sigh in defeat.

Mark makes a mental note to call Kun later tonight to ask if Yukhei’s mentioned wanting a new video game. Or if Yukhei needs new equipment for an upcoming swim meet. Hopefully, Kun will be as helpful as he’s always been.

 

Kun hums for the longest time when Mark asks him if Yukhei’s talked about what he wants for his birthday. Mark thinks that it might be the static over the phone call at first, but he realises that it’s just the manifestation of the gears in Kun’s head whirling as he considers the question.

Jungwoo, who’s presumably next to Kun, shouts from a distance that “ _Xuxi said he wants a family!_ ”

Mark has been holed up in their bathroom for the past five minutes since Kun started humming because it’s the only room in their entire apartment where he can get some actual space from Yukhei. (But only when he announces that he has ‘business’ to do, because otherwise Yukhei would tail after him like a puppy and sit on the closed lid of their toilet bowl while Mark showers or brushes his teeth.)

“ _What does that mean?_ ” Mark hears Kun ask Jungwoo, audibly as confused as Mark is.

“ _They lost their dog, didn’t they? He’s been whining about being a dad for weeks._ ”

Mark lets his mouth fall open slightly as he considers this. Yes, Yukhei has dropped multiple hints that he would like to be a father—as a joke more often than not—but that’s not going to be possible. Mark recalls the time that Yukhei randomly brought up the possibility of having a ‘mini Yukhei’ running around their apartment.

“Wouldn’t it be cool if we had a mini-me in the house? Like, a tiny Wong Yukhei. A me, but so much tinier,” Yukhei had enthused, his arms wrapped around Mark’s form as they cuddled on the floor while leaning against the couch. “It’d be amazing. A smaller version of me…”

“Yukhei,” Mark deadpanned, half-amused and half-tired of his boyfriend’s nonsensical blabbering. “We’ve talked about this. No matter how advanced science and technology becomes, there’s no way that we’d be able to produce a shared child biologically.”

Yukhei was taken aback by Mark’s words, but he continued drawing small circles into the dent of Mark’s hips with his thumbs. “I know, but I’m just saying… wouldn’t it be cool?”

Mark laughs at the memory, running his fingers through his hair. “Kun and Jungwoo, you guys have been a big help,” Mark quickly says, suddenly realising exactly what he can get for Yukhei. “Can you not tell Yukhei that I called? I’ve finally thought of what to surprise him with.”

“ _Sure thing, Mark. Glad I could be of assistance_ ,” Kun replies good-naturedly. “ _Goodbye!_ ”

Mark hangs up after saying his goodbye, chuckling to himself as he exits the bathroom to enter their bedroom.

Yukhei is already lying on his back in bed, his head resting on both his arms. He cracks an eye open to look at Mark as he walks towards him, smiling softly. Yukhei moves to pull up the covers to Mark’s side of the bed, wordlessly asking Mark to join him.

Mark climbs in carefully, invading Yukhei’s space just like he always does.

“What were you doing in there?” Yukhei asks, sounding slightly concerned. “You don’t usually take that long.”

“You count how long it takes me to go to the toilet?”

Yukhei bursts out laughing and Mark follows suit. “No, eww, what?” Yukhei exclaims, his eyes squeezed shut as he laughs harshly, trying and failing to regain his breath. Yukhei starts tickling Mark after in the spots that he knows Mark is the most vulnerable in, still giggling as Mark struggles against him.

“Stop,” Mark whines. “Stop!”

Yukhei only stops to lean down to give Mark a kiss, the minty flavour of his toothpaste lingering at the edge of Mark’s lips when he’s done.

“Dumb Xuxi,” Mark jokingly teases, looking into Yukhei’s large brown eyes.

Yukhei has such pretty eyes. Mark’s very sure that he’s thought about how beautiful Yukhei’s eyes are before—he’s probably written poetry about it in his head countless of times. Sometimes Mark wonders if Yukhei’s parents stole Yukhei’s eyes from a jewellery store because that’s just how much they sparkle.

He’ll never say that to Yukhei, though. Yukhei has a big enough head as it is. Okay, maybe Mark would never say that to Yukhei _sober_ , but he’s pretty sure that he’s told Yukhei about it drunk.

“Your dumb Xuxi,” Yukhei says, pointing to one of his cheeks asking for a kiss.

Mark rolls his eyes, but he still leans up to leave messy kisses all over Yukhei’s face. Just because he asked for it.

 

* * *

 

Mark’s grand idea is something that he’s actually thought about in passing. A golden retriever had given birth to a litter of puppies a couple of months ago and Taeyong was fussing over putting them up for adoption. Mark considered offering to take one of them off his hands but he chalked it down to being sleep-deprived and Lion-deprived so he banished the thought at the end of the day.

Yukhei especially enjoyed playing with the puppies once the mother dog was less protective over her pups. He spent most of their last volunteering session seated in a corner of the nursery, covered in a small hill of golden puppies. It was his form of heaven.

Mark thought his crazy idea through last night and it’s perfect. Yukhei’s proven to be a responsible father figure and Mark’s actually not doing too badly himself. They’re still learning along the way but their experience with Lion showed that they’re stable young adults capable of caring for another life form.

Yukhei’s been vocal about their home feeling slightly empty without Lion to share it with them and maybe Mark can help fill that Lion-shaped hole with… well, a golden retriever puppy. All of their own.

Their very own baby.

Taeyong is agreeable to let Mark adopt one of the puppies, looking through the litter to find the one that Yukhei especially loved carrying around. “I believe this little boy was Xuxi’s favourite,” Taeyong announces, holding out a golden puppy who squirms in excitement in his hands.

“How do you know that it’s him?” Mark asks, genuinely curious. He reaches out for the puppy who gently licks his finger before letting him carry him without fuss.

“He was the runt of the litter and Yukhei made sure he was well-fed every week. You really can’t tell that he used to be really small anymore. He’s about as big as his siblings now.”

Mark notices that the puppy in his hands is a little bit smaller than the rest of the puppies but not by much. He grins, burying his nose in the puppy’s soft fur. “He’s perfect,” Mark says, more to himself than to Taeyong. “Is it really okay for me to take him now? Won’t he miss his family?”

Taeyong looks at Mark with a gentle expression on his face. “A couple of his siblings are getting adopted later this week, I’m actually happy that he’s going to a home first without being left behind,” he admits, scratching the back of his head. “He seems to really like Xuxi too, so I’m _extra happy_ that he’ll be going to the both of you.”

Mark scratches behind the puppy’s ears and the little one makes a rumble at the back of his throat. “I’ll take him, then. Just in time for Xuxi’s birthday.”

Taeyong laughs, leading Mark out the door of the nursery. “Let’s bring him to Jaehyun first. I think he still needs a deworming shot.”

They approach Jaehyun’s procedure room, greeting him with annoying high-pitched calls of “Dr. Jaehyun!” that makes him cringe. Jaehyun rests a hand on the small of Taeyong’s back as they discuss the puppy’s vaccinations, then he finally steps away from Taeyong to take a look at the pup’s growth stats.

“I think he’s fit to go home with you today,” Jaehyun states after weighing the puppy. “Does Xuxi know that you’re taking him home?”

Mark shakes his head.

“It’s going to be a surprise!” Taeyong exclaims, clapping his hands together. “They’re always so romantic with each other.”

Jaehyun bristles at that but he signs the form certifying that the puppy is fit to leave the shelter. “Xuxi is going to keel over and _die_ ,” he says, stroking the puppy’s back. “We should schedule a puppy playdate for Ruby and… what are you naming him again?”

Mark shrugs. “I have a few ideas, but we’ll see,” he answers, already letting possible names for the puppy crop up in his head. “You two should bring Ruby over when we get settled in!”

Taeyong brightens up even more at the mention of his beloved dog, nodding eagerly. “I’m taking your word for it,” he says, pointing at Mark. “Anyway, get out of here. Go take him to Xuxi!”

 

Mark rubs his palms against the material of his jeans as he sits on the bed, watching as their new puppy patters around the room curiously, sniffing every other object he comes across. “Baby,” he calls to the puppy lightly, who looks his way immediately. “Later when your dad comes home, you’re going to have to go over to him, okay? He’s going to be so happy to see you.”

The puppy totters over to Mark’s feet, pawing at his bedroom slippers to ask to be carried. Mark picks the puppy up, giving him a kiss on the nose.

“You’re so cute,” he whispers, just as he hears the lock on the front door being unlocked. “Oh, okay. Stay here, alright? I’ll come back for you. Don’t make a mess!”

Mark lowers the puppy quickly, leaving him to play with a baby blue blanket that he falls in love with immediately. Mark hurriedly exits the room before the puppy can notice his absence, shutting the door behind him to go greet Yukhei.

“Hei!” he calls, walking over to Yukhei who’s toeing off his espadrilles next to the shoe rack. “You’re home.”

Yukhei looks up and smiles, giving Mark a kiss on the head when Mark walks up to him. “Have you been home long?” he asks, stroking the back of Mark’s neck gently as they make their way towards the kitchen. “I’m famished.”

Mark leads him over to the couch instead. “Wait, I have something to tell you,” he interrupts Yukhei, seating the man down on the sofa.

Yukhei does as he’s told, but he looks up at Mark with concern as he lowers his book bag next to him. “You have something to tell me?” he repeats, tilting his head to a side. He looks infuriatingly innocent like this—his hair slightly disheveled from the walk home and his lower lip jutting out slightly in his confusion.

Mark laughs nervously, unsure of how to proceed. He hasn’t felt this anxious around Yukhei since they first started going out with each other almost two years ago. He was in his first year of university then, not familiar with the workings of a proper adult relationship, and so was Yukhei, who played pretend at first but eventually came clean about being flustered, too. They learnt how to navigate their lives as individuals and a couple together— learning and growing alongside each other.

It feels odd to say that they’re taking the next step together by bringing this puppy into their lives, but they are. He’s going to be their responsibility from now on—a part of the new family they’re going to be growing with each other as the years go by. Mark’s ready for all of that because he sees the potential in Yukhei to be a caretaker and he knows that this puppy will brighten their shared life all the more.

“I’ve been thinking, about the both of us,” Mark starts, hoping that he doesn’t stutter over his words. Thankfully, he manages to sound somewhat stable. “I’ve given you and I a lot of thinking, and I want us to go up a level.”

Yukhei is gaping, to say the least. He has his eyebrows knit together in focus and his jaw is slightly agape as he blinks slowly to process Mark’s words. “Uh… Mark?” he whispers, looking around the room as if there might be someone else watching them.

“Wait, Xuxi,” Mark holds a hand up to stop him from speaking. “Let me finish! I just want to say that we’re young and dumb but… I think… no, I _know_ , that we’d make good parents. Don’t you?”

Yukhei considers that for a moment before taking both of Mark’s hands in his, looking up at him timidly. “Mark…” Yukhei trails off, swallowing loudly. He blinks twice before talking again. “Mark, are you pregnant?”

Mark can’t help the wave of laughter that bubbles in his chest as he bursts out laughing, taking his hands out of Yukhei’s grasp to hold both sides of Yukhei’s face. “No, you idiot,” Mark clarifies, still laughing. “Okay, enough with the dramatics. I’ll just show you.”

He composes himself before instructing Yukhei to stay where he is. He goes into the bedroom, picking up the puppy who’s found himself tangled in the blankets. Mark takes a deep breath as he cradles the puppy to his chest, stroking it lightly.

“Okay, baby, I’m going to put you down and you be good, okay?” he says to the puppy quietly, hoping his message conveys. “I’m going to need you to run over to your new dad when I let you out the door, alright? You’re going to run all the way to him.”

The puppy stares up at Mark with excited eyes, sticking his little tongue out to pant lightly. Mark puts his trust in the little guy and cracks the door open, setting the puppy right outside the door. The puppy takes one look at Mark before he runs away, hopefully towards Yukhei.

Mark counts 30 seconds before coming out of the room, slowly peeking at where he can see Yukhei standing with the puppy in his hands. “Surprise!” Mark yells, better later than never.

Yukhei looks at Mark and his eyes are open wide. His grin, however, is infectious. He holds the puppy up with one hand, the other hand cupping the puppy’s bottom as he shows Mark his new pride and joy. “Mark,” Yukhei calls. “Oh my God, Mark.”

“I’m thinking of naming him Sushi,” Mark suggests, going over to wrap his arms around Yukhei’s middle. “His fur is the colour of your hair back when you bleached it. He looks like a little Xuxi.”

“Sushi,” Yukhei lets the name roll off his tongue. “It’s perfect. Welcome to our home, little Sushi!”

Mark laughs as Yukhei continues to fawn over their puppy, admiring everything about him from his little nose to the little pads on the bottom of his paws.

“He’s so perfect,” Yukhei says when the three of them are huddled on the ground, Sushi curled up in Yukhei’s lap. “And you’re so perfect. Thank you.”

Mark rests his head on Yukhei’s shoulder, smiling fondly at the way Yukhei is repeatedly stroking the back of Sushi’s head with his index finger. He can tell that Yukhei’s already in love with the puppy. “I’m glad you’re happy,” Mark leans upwards to leave a tender kiss on the angle of Yukhei’s jaw. “Happy early birthday, Xuxi.”

Yukhei curls a hand under Mark’s chin to kiss him properly this time—it’s slow, sweet, and incredibly light. There’s nothing but love and happiness that radiates from the contact. “I love you,” Yukhei says against Mark’s lips.

“I love you the _mostest_ ,” Mark whispers back, echoing Yukhei’s previous quote.

Yukhei chuckles softly before pressing his lips against Mark’s once more.

 

* * *

  

“Oh my God, Lucas, do you know where my other shoe is?” Mark shouts from the door as he looks up and down the shoe rack for his right black Adidas sneaker. “Lucas!”

Yukhei comes barreling through the bedroom door, still in his pyjamas shorts with Sushi in his arms. Sushi is a little bigger now, but he’s still only as big as a human baby, so Yukhei still insists on cradling him around the apartment. “I don’t know…” he replies sleepily, looking down at the little monster in his hands. “Sushi, do you know where daddy’s shoe is?”

Sushi blinks up at Yukhei innocently, pleading the fifth. He then turns to look at Mark, tilting his head one way and then the other.

“Sushi, I swear to God,” Mark curses under his breath, resorting to wearing his red sneakers instead that will no doubt clash with the rest of his outfit. He’s running late so there’s no time to spare for fashion emergencies. “Lucas Wong, when I get home I want my black shoes lined up by the door. You hear me? Chewed or alive.”

Yukhei does a military salute, Sushi still resting in his other arm comfortably. “Yes, sir!” he says loudly, throwing Mark one of his signature ‘ _I love you so please don’t punish me_ ’ smiles. “And I’m assuming we’ll be gathering at the base for our march at six?”

“I just want my shoe, Lucas. If it’s not here when I get back,” Mark pauses, skulking over to the two roots of his life’s problems. “This little devil is going to get what’s coming for him.” Mark pokes Sushi’s forehead lightly with his index finger in an attempt to intimidate him, but his heart is too soft for it and he ends up stroking the puppy’s head instead.

“It’ll be there, I promise.”

Mark raises an eyebrow to show his disbelief at Yukhei’s confidence.

“What? I promise!”

Mark suddenly remembers that he’s going to be in so much trouble if he doesn’t meet Yuta and Sicheng at their study group by 11am that he practically bolts for the door. “I’m warning the both of you,” he says one last time as he pokes his head through the door to glare at Yukhei and Sushi. “Shoe, or no walk.”

“We’ll be waiting for you!” Yukhei says in a high-pitched voice to mimic Sushi’s ‘baby voice’. He waves goodbye to Mark with one of Sushi’s paws. “We love you!”

Mark snorts, closing the door behind him as he rushes off to meet his friends, doubting that Yukhei will find his black shoe unscathed.

 

Sushi has been teething for the past few months which resulted in him chewing on most objects lying around on the ground at home. More often than not, Mark’s shoes are the chosen victims and Mark has had to replace his bedroom slippers twice in the last three weeks because of Sushi’s bad habit. He’s been telling Yukhei to do something about it, but Yukhei wants to play the role of ‘good cop’ and claims that Mark should be the ‘bad cop’ himself if he’s so insistent on punishment.

Mark isn’t saying that they have to _punish_ Sushi, but they definitely have to set some ground rules so Sushi doesn’t grow up thinking chewing on his parents’ belongings is acceptable behaviour.

Which is why Mark returns home that late afternoon with an aerosol can of chewing deterrent spray and three new chew toys for Sushi to choose from—a squeaky bone-shaped one, another squeaky soft toy, and a hard chew bone.

He’s surprised to see his black sneakers lined up at the door, looking pristine and perfect, as if they were never chewed on. Mark slips on his bedroom slippers and finds Yukhei in the kitchen, baking dog treats for his beloved son.

“Mark, you’re home!” Yukhei greets happily, going over to grab Mark by the waist to give him a kiss. There’s flour on the tip of Yukhei’s nose, but Mark lets him peck him anyway.

“My shoes,” Mark deadpans, brushing off the flour on the edges of his shirt where Yukhei touched him earlier.

“What about them?”

Mark narrows his eyes at Yukhei, who only walks back to his mixing bowl full of ingredients. Sushi greets Mark by sitting by his feet and Mark leans down to brush his fur out of his eyes. “They’re new,” Mark says as a matter of fact, hearing a dramatic gasp that comes from Yukhei’s end. “Oh, don’t pretend, Xuxi. You went out and got me a new pair of shoes, didn’t you?”

Yukhei starts rolling the dough out on the counter, guiltily refusing to meet Mark’s eyes. “No way, I found it under the bed.”

Mark sighs, going over to help his boyfriend with cutting out the shapes of the dog treats with bone-shaped cookie cutters. “Liar,” he mutters, laying a shaped piece of dough onto the prepped baking tray. “I have a stain on the side of my right shoe from spilling coffee on it last semester. That shoe is new and we both know it.”

“Okay, fine, I got you a new pair of shoes,” Yukhei admits, grimacing as Mark looks at him. “Are you mad?”

Mark purses his lips for a moment, letting Yukhei think that he’s disappointed. On the contrary, Mark is flattered.

Yukhei didn’t have to go through all the trouble to buy Mark a new pair of shoes that look identical to the ones he had previously. Mark was already planning to get himself another token pair of black sneakers to replace his damaged ones. He even looked up the popular models of shoes as of late.

It’s just in Yukhei’s nature to be overly concerned over Mark. He was probably worried that Mark would be devastated to find his favourite shoes destroyed, so the only way he could think to make it up to him was to get him a replacement with hopes that he wouldn’t notice.

Yukhei underestimates Mark’s observational skills sometimes. Mark glosses over details for certain issues, but there are rare occasions when his vision seems to be especially sharp.

“I’m not mad,” Mark says after a while of silence. “Thank you. For the shoes.”

Yukhei passes Mark a dog treat from the previous batch he just baked, and it’s the shape of a heart. “You’re very welcome, Mark,” he replies, relieved. “I thought you were going to chew me out at first.”

“Like how Sushi chewed up my other shoe?”

“Okay, we might have to do something about his chewing habit,” Yukhei finally caves. “I’m not sure why he’s always targeting your shoes but I hear you and I understand your frustration.”

Sushi barks from between their feet, looking up, ready for a dog treat. Mark decides against giving the one in his hands to him. Sushi’s training starts now.

“As long as you promise that you’re going to see this through with me, we can train him together,” Mark suggests, nudging Yukhei with his shoulder. “What do you say?”

Yukhei takes a deep breath with closed eyes, obviously trying to put aside his vulnerability when it comes to disciplining Sushi. “Yes,” he breathes out, taking the tray lined with unbaked treats to put it into the oven. “We’re going to make sure that our baby is well-behaved.”

“We can’t let him look bad in comparison to Ruby.”

“No, we can’t.”

Mark laughs when Yukhei walks back towards him. Mark leans up just as Yukhei leans downwards so they can kiss, lightly, with just a touch of their lips. “Please tell me you didn’t eat any of the treats you just made,” Mark whispers against Yukhei’s lips.

Yukhei’s eyes widen for a moment. “Uh, I didn’t?”

Mark punches him in the arm, spluttering with laughter as Yukhei attempts to explain himself. It’s truly a wonder why Mark’s hopelessly in love with this man.

 

* * *

 

Sushi grows past the phase of peeing on their bathmats and taking dumps on Yukhei’s gym clothes lying on the floor. It takes a lot of determination and effort on both Yukhei and Mark’s end but Sushi eventually associates their evening walks with his waste excretion, which makes their lives a whole lot easier.

Sushi grows bigger and bigger every day, to Yukhei’s dismay. Yukhei still treats him like a baby, but he’s devastated when he realises that Sushi can’t be carried with only one arm anymore.

Mark thinks that Yukhei and Sushi are like two peas in a pod. Sushi takes after Yukhei in so many ways that he never thought would be possible. Sushi’s barks are loud, his appetite is never-ending, and he’s got a glint of curiosity that’s perpetually reflected in his eyes, much like Yukhei.

It’s not a surprise for Mark to return home to Yukhei asleep with Sushi lying right on his abdomen. It used to be cute when Sushi was just a little bigger than Yukhei’s palm—Yukhei would be lying on his back and Sushi would be curled up into a golden fur ball right on his belly, the both of them content to be dead to the world. Now it looks a bit more suffocating because Sushi still insists on lying right on Yukhei.

They improvise so that Sushi learns to sleep curled up to Yukhei’s side instead, taking up Mark’s spot which causes the latter to scoff with annoyance. However, Sushi learns his place in the coming weeks and takes his leave from Mark’s side of the bed whenever Mark is around, settling for his dog cushion right next to Yukhei’s side of their bed.

Mark couldn’t ask for a more perfect family to come home to.

 

Yukhei picks Mark up from his tutorial that ended late that afternoon and they take the short walk home hand-in-hand, already planning to take Sushi out for his stroll right after they reach home.

Sushi is delighted that they’re going for a walk early today and he brings his leash to Mark, offering it to him with his mouth. Mark takes it gratefully with a _thanks, Sushi_ , quickly putting it on for him. Sushi usually gives his toys to Yukhei, only registering Yukhei as his alpha, so Mark is glad that he’s finally giving Mark the recognition he deserves too.

Yukhei takes Mark’s hand in his as Mark passes him the handle to Sushi’s leash and they make their daily walk through the park just beside their apartment complex.

They promised to meet Johnny and Ten who are bringing one of Ten’s many dogs to the park—Mark thinks it might be Tommy or Kimchi.

“I’m a bit worried about the rain earlier,” Yukhei says to Mark as they trek through the paved walkway towards the park. He manages to tug on Sushi’s leash before the dog leaps into a puddle. “Sushi’s going to get himself dirty again.”

Mark hums, looking at his boyfriend who has his eyebrows furrowed. “Relax, Hei, you have to be firm, yeah? Tell him no and that it’s final.”

Yukhei whines lowly, unhappy that he’s been given the baton to talk to Sushi sternly. “Why can’t you do it?” he asks.

They stop in their tracks as Sushi sniffs at the roots of a tree, ready to do his business.

Yukhei rests his forehead against Mark’s, still pouting a bit. “You know I’m not good with him.”

“You? Not good with Sushi?” Mark snorts. “If you’re not going to train him properly, you’ll just have to give him a bath again when he runs into a puddle.”

“We don’t know that he’s—” Yukhei doesn’t have to chance to finish his sentence when Sushi promptly rolls on the grass and small clumps of mud visibly cling onto the fur of his back. “—Oh my God, Sushi!”

Mark draws out a sigh. “We haven’t even made it to the park yet. Bad boy!” he says to Sushi, who doesn’t seem to understand. He looks up at Yukhei. “Are you going to do it or will I have to do it… again?”

“I’ll do it,” Yukhei murmurs resignedly. He lets go of Mark’s hand to squat next to Sushi who looks up at him with interest. “Sushi, no,” he states firmly, wagging a finger in front of the dog’s face. “Bad boy, Sushi. No rolling in the mud.”

Sushi looks on the ground guiltily as he assumes a sitting position, clearly ashamed of the mess that he’s made.

“Sushi,” Yukhei calls, sighing before he continues. “No. Dirty. Okay?”

If a dog could nod in understanding, Mark supposes Sushi would. “Alright, Hei, let’s bring him in.”

Yukhei pats the dog behind his head after in consolation. “I don’t want to yell at you, okay? Don’t do that again, alright?” Yukhei gives a gentle tug on Sushi’s leash to let him know that they’ll be proceeding on their walk. “Come on, boy. Let’s go.”

Mark links his arms with Yukhei’s this time, scratching under Yukhei’s chin to tease him. “That was great work, Xuxi. You’re a good boy.”

Yukhei rolls his eyes but smiles anyway.

They reach the park soon and see Johnny and Ten who wave at them from the other end of the field, a small Yorkshire Terrier with what looks like a pink bow on her head already running for a frisbee that Johnny throws into the distance. Yukhei lets Sushi off his leash after a firm warning of “No puddles,” but it’s unclear if Sushi understands so they just have to trust that he does.

“How dirty do you think he’s going to be when we see him next?” Yukhei asks as they make their way towards their friends.

“Very,” is Mark’s reply.

Yukhei laughs, stopping to tilt Mark’s chin up so he can give him a kiss on the lips.

Mark hears Ten gag, followed by wolf whistles presumably coming from Johnny. “What was that for?” he asks Yukhei, resting a hand on the centre of Yukhei’s chest.

“For putting up with me,” Yukhei says as a matter of fact, smirking slightly. “And for always putting your trust in me. Even when I don’t deserve it.”

Mark doesn’t think he quite understands still, but he takes it anyway. He gives Yukhei a kiss of his own. “Alright, Xuxi. I love you too.”

“And I love you…”

“The _mostest_ , I know.”

**Author's Note:**

> i’ve had this recurring dream for the past week of lumark being boyfriends and adopting a dog and this is what resulted from my chaotic dreamscape. jk. i decided that the world needed domestic lumark + a dog so this fic was born. enjoy.
> 
> twt: [@lucashaeyadwae](http://twitter.com/lucashaeyadwae)


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